THE CHANNEL ISLANDS.
rTo Inv EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR:1 Sta,—Referring to Mr. Westlake's letter in the Spectator of the 12th inst., may I be allowed to add my quota to the correspondence upon this interesting subject. Having been puzzled to understand how the islands supported a population four times as dense as that of the United. Kingdom, notwith- standing that they possess neither mines nor manufactures, I have recently paid a visit to Jersey and Guernsey, and I arrived at the following conclusions :— 1st. That though the total population of all the islands is 100,000, a deduction must be made from that of probably 20,000, who are English, and other residents who do not derive their incomes from any local source. This leaves 70,000 as the number living on the resources of the islands, which gives 11 persons to each acre, including the entire area of all the islands, say 48,000 acres. In the United Kingdom, we have about 76 million acres, and a population of 36 millions, or about half a person to each acre ; and, therefore, the Channel Islands sup- port, area for area, three times the number the United Kingdom supports. Apart from shipping, the whole number of persons in the islands is maintained upon the produce of the soil there, minus the 20,000 who live upon independent resources.
2nd. The soil is in parts very fertile, but upon the whole I was disappointed in this respect. I saw a great deal of wretchedly poor sandy land ; and taking the whole area of Jersey and Guernsey into account, it is not such good land as exists in the Eastern portion of this county (Norfolk).
3rd. The almost entire absence of taxation is evidently felt to be a great boon.
4th. The climate is extremely favourable to the cultivation of .early crops and also late autumn ones. Potatoes are planted in February, and taken up for sale in time to sow barley after- wards. This early crop of potatoes fetches a high price ; it comes into the English market before ours are ready, and the soil being well adapted to potatoes, the yield is very large per acre, especially so in consequence of the use of seaweed as manure, which exists in great abundance within easy distance of every field in the islands. Potatoes, barley, and carrots, or date cauliflowers, can be grown within the year. Land, where let, fetches a high rent, as much as 215 per acre being paid per annum.
5th. Easy and cheap transit to Covent Garden Market is a great factor in the problem. Goods can be sent every day at a through rate, and are in London twenty hours after leaving the islands.
I have come to the conclusion that the islands are prosperous because of their fairly fertile soil, of the absence of a grinding +maim, of a mild and equable climate, which allows of early and late crops being grown ; and last (most important of all), because the early and late crops can be cheaply and quickly put into a market where the demand for them is certain, and where higher prices can be made than we English people can make of what we produce.
Jersey exported this last spring and early summer 2400,000 worth of potatoes, equal to 210 per head for every soul in the island. I do not shut my eyes to the fact that the land system of the island causes the wealth accruing from all these advan- tages to be pretty evenly distributed over the whole population ; and I see quite plainly that,:under our English land system, ald those advantages would have gone into the landlord's pockets. This is shown plainly by the fact that when a bit of land is to let, it fetches 215 per acre per annum. With our cold springs and generally late climate, we cannot vie with these happy islanders ; but I am certain that under a system of occupying ownership, our soil would produce double what it produces now, and that wealth, happiness, and well-being would be more equitably distributed than at present. We must not expect to see the soil of this country support the number of persons to the square mile that are supported in the Channel Islands ; but I have no hesitation in saying that, with a more minute and thorough cultivation, our country would support in decent comfort double its present population. Secure possession of the land by the people in small holdings has made the Jerseyites and Guernseyites rich. Our English large-farm system would soon reduce them to the position of our labourers who luxuriate on eleven shillings per week.—I am, Sir, &c., AN Ex-Feanna.
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